I have had my Thomson flight changed to a Thomas Cook one departing at 6am which means having to pay extra to use the car park for 2 weeks.
I wouldnt expect anyone to give us a lift at 3am.
When I complained they said they can do want they want and the flight changes are out of their control.
They even lied and said the airport had cancelled the flight.
I hope you mange to get some financial help with your extra costs.

Madasharley

which tour operator? which agent?

The T&Cs of your contract may allow them to change airports, airlines and departure times (usually by up to 12 hours either way) but if they do they would be liable for the transport costs from Bristol Airport (it's still up to you to get there), since the whole plane load would be affected they would put you on coaches, it's unlikley they would consider individual transport from home. If they simply cancel the holiday at this short notice you'll probably be entitled to a bit of compensation on top of a refund.

did your source say when the flight was cancelled? There don't seem to be any Luxor flights from any UK airport in the Thomson timetable but you could be on another airline.

Jay Trip

like I said, flight changes are covered in the T&Cs. If the departure time is within the range allowed for they can do it, and they aren't liable for how you get to the airport. All part of the game of dealing with tour operators. I seem to recall that you are going to Tunisia, so it's probably a genuine short notice alteration brought on by events. If you could prove otherwise and show they never had a chance of flying at the times they sold you then you might have a claim, if it was true you'd need a mole - like I had when I got my money back from MyTravel!!

Steve,Yes I am going to Tunisia and the Thomson agent lied and said that Newcastle airport had cancelled the flight when in fact they have put their customers on the Thomas Cook flight as there wasnt enough passengers to fill 2 planes.
I can expect this but why lie?
Someone who is on my flight has had her tickets for 2 weeks and they were convinced they were on the Thomson flight at 14.55 and it was only after reading my posts that she went to Thomsons on Friday and they didnt know anything about the change
They rang head office and they confirmed she was on the 6am TC flight.
Unfortunately she lives in Yorkshire so the change has affected her more than us as we are only about 50 minutes from the airport.
At least we are going from our local airport and the flight is direct.

hi we booked in first choice for a thompson flight the tickets came 2 days ago with bristol on them. i guess the reason they are changing is they proberly have not filled the flight.
officially the flights should keep running untill april from bristol.

that's very odd if the tickets say Bristol and were only issued a few days ago. What's the flight number? The outward flight you should be on appears to be TOM762. Of course if they intend to put everyone on a coach to another airport they would still want you at Bristol at the time it says on these tickets - has that changed from what was originally planned? And what about your return departure time from Luxor, is that shown and has that changed?

just got back from 2 hours at travel agent result being bristol flights have been cancelled could not offer us birmingham flight as they are full only alternative is gatwick which is impossible for me.and we have to make own way there. or go somewhere else on those dates or move the holiday to another date.
they will not let me cancel as they have offered me another airport.no sorry nothing for not informing me as to flight cancelation good job i looked on trip advisor or we whould have been sat in bristol waiting.
we have now had to reschedule the holiday for nov 16th from bristol.
i am fuming with thompson the way they treat you is disgracefull

hi steve they dont have any intention of putting on coach from bristol we have to make own way.
they obviously decided because of the lack of people going with the problems in egypt recently that they can not fill that flight.
the girl in travel agent did not even know/was not informed by thompson that the flights from bristol had stopped.
THOMPSON you are a DISGRACE

Have you tried ringing Simpson Millar for free advice?

just got back from 2 hours at travel agent result being bristol flights have been cancelled could not offer us birmingham flight as they are full only alternative is gatwick which is impossible for me.and we have to make own way there. or go somewhere else on those dates or move the holiday to another date.
they will not let me cancel as they have offered me another airport.no sorry nothing for not informing me as to flight cancelation good job i looked on trip advisor or we whould have been sat in bristol waiting.
we have now had to reschedule the holiday for nov 16th from bristol.
i am fuming with thompson the way they treat you is disgracefull
just got back from 2 hours at travel agent result being bristol flights have been cancelled could not offer us birmingham flight as they are full only alternative is gatwick which is impossible for me.and we have to make own way there. or go somewhere else on those dates or move the holiday to another date.
they will not let me cancel as they have offered me another airport.no sorry nothing for not informing me as to flight cancelation good job i looked on trip advisor or we whould have been sat in bristol waiting.
we have now had to reschedule the holiday for nov 16th from bristol.
i am fuming with thompson the way they treat you is disgracefull

madasharley

In the event of a cancellation, you are entitled to either a refund or a re-route under EC 261/2004: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:EN:HTML

Article 8 states that at your choice:

Article 8

Right to reimbursement or re-routing

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:

(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,

- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

2. Paragraph 1(a) shall also apply to passengers whose flights form part of a package, except for the right to reimbursement where such right arises under Directive 90/314/EEC.

3. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the cost of transferring the passenger from that alternative airport either to that for which the booking was made, or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.

You keep on spouting EC 261/2004

ARTICLE 9 - SCHEDULES, DELAYS, CANCELLATION OF FLIGHTS
9.1 SCHEDULES
9.1.1 The flight times shown in timetables may change between the date of publication and the date you actually travel. We do not guarantee them to you and they do not form part of your contract with us.

The airlines have got them selves covered every way.

Yes I do keep on 'spouting' EC 261/2004, don't I! That's because whatever terms the airline states in its Contract of Carriage is governed and superceded by EU law. The airlines have no derogation not to follow applicable law so the airlines are unable to opt out of such in the way you seem to assert.

AP1408 wrote:

You keep on spouting EC 261/2004

AP1408 please keep it friendly on the forums.

More importantly the 261 rules were intended for just flights and what we are dealing with here is an amendment to a Package which is covered by different regulations, if the package is "rebuilt" before departure the 261 flight change rule may not be relevant. If the Tour Operator said in advance they were changing the flight content of a package it wouldn't be considered to be a 261 issue, but if it hadn't been changed and went wrong on the day then it would be covered.

As I said several posts ago, whether or not they can change a departure airport depends what is in the T&Cs. On their website under First Choice Sun Holidays, their T&Cs clearly state that a change of UK departure airport (other than swapping one London for another) would be considered as a Major Change. If they inform you less than 7 days before departure they will give you £40 per person in the party (have they told you that?) before you even get round to the what-happens-next stage. If you don't like the change you have the option of a completely different holiday of similar value or a full refund of all money paid. That's the contract terms they set so there shouldn't be any argument about which law counts. It's possible that different brochures may have slighty different T&Cs but I suspect the Major Change section will be the same. You should have checked yours before even going to the shop because it would have saved a lot of hassle. It's standard travel trade practise to fob you off because most people don't read the T&Cs.

Going back to the 261 rules, UK courts are refusing to even accept some claims for listing as some sections are being refered back to Strasbourg for clarification, so for the moment it's best to have a Plan B. There is no such thing as EU law, just EU standards which each country is required to adopt into their own legislation as a minimum. Which may explain why in another thread a member from Ireland got better treatment from Aer Lingus than various UK members with the same problem of snow disruption at the end of last year.

Thomson holidays text me just 12 hours before check-in, and informed me of the 24hrs delay. I called customer services and asked what compensation will I get (1 day short from my 5* AI holiday) Thomson said no compensation from them but claim from my own travel insurance. I asked for a full payment refund of total holiday and Thomson said I am not entitled to a refund. I checked on ABTA web site and ABTA state that more that 12hrs delay is significant and warrants a full refund. After informing Thomson they are an ABTA member Thomson said over the phone I could have a full refund, I requested this confirming by email, Thomson sent email saying I could be entitled to a refund, I then emailed Thomson again and requested positive confirmation that I Will receive a full refund upon cancellation, but they replied the office is closed today on Sunday and they will open at normal business hours tomorrow, the problem is that the new check-in time is tomorrow at 06:30hrs and due to depart at 09:30hrs, so If I wait for confirmation I will miss the check-in and also the flight and may then lose the refund if its not confirmed. Thomson have a 24/7 holiday line that is also closed today on Sunday afternoon. There is a regulation EU 261/2004 that every one should be aware of because you could be entitled to delay compensation of 200 -600 euros per person. A delay to Florida of over 4 hours could claim 600 euros (£550.00) each person.

You could also claim on your insurance under Abandonment, but would have an excess to pay.

luci

As already stated, altering a package in advance would get round the 261 rules, although 12 hours in advance is probably a bit close to the line and if they actually called it a delay not an alteration they would be liable. Even so, the 261 rules only cover the flight, alternative transport and care during delay. They do not cover consequential loss - such as the rest of your holiday. So it is not good to rely on them for package tours.

But the 261 rules on Delay never gave the cash compensation rights, only care and assistance at the airport. Compensation started to be given after a court granted a claim for Delay and awarded compensation using the amounts in the flight Cancellation rules. At first the airlines didn't challenge this but after the Ash Cloud cost them a fortune they have now taken a stand. The right to compensation for Delay has been referred back to the European Court of Justice and UK courts are not listing any claims until a decision is made. This means the airlines can dig in and refuse to pay out. If you want to argue with them you'd have to wait for an outcome from the ECJ and that could take a couple of years.